to think this isn't ok at breakfast club?

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My children both go to breakfast club Monday to Friday and are there by 8am so that I can get to work on time. They have breakfast there so that they don't have to get up so early at home. I happened to stay a little longer dropping them off yesterday and saw what they are given for 'breakfast' it was 1 piece of (heavily) buttered (Marg) toast and a carton of fruit juice.

AIBU to think this isn't a)enough b)very healthy??? I am prepared to be told that if I don't like it I should give them breakfast at home which is what I'm going to do now but still!! This is supposed to give children a good start to their day no? Also they charge for breakfast so I would expect cereal, yogurt maybe the odd piece of fruit?!

Cereal and raisens? That's pure sugar

What were you told they'd be getting, and what have the children told you they've had on other days?

Cereal and raisens? That's pure sugar

depends what cereal

That's rubbish. Ours is £1.50 per child from 8am. Kids get toast & cereals plus a drink they can have 2nd helpings if they want. Still not all that healthy but filling at least.

Breaskfqsr should always include protein so they should be also be being offered cereal with milk or a yoghurt or a milky drink at the very least. What they are getting is nutritionally pretty much worthless and doesn't sound calorific enough to give them enough energy for a school morning.

Fucking hell! How in god's name do children eat so much? DS can barely manage a small piece of toast and you've all got kids who eat toast, cereal and fruit!

Portion control?

Cereal = protein?? I didn't know that. I thought it was just empty carbs and some fibre

Most breakfast clubs are only open for an hour and require two paid staff getting at least minimum wage and may have to pay rent or fuel costs on top of food costs. So there isn't much time for eating, food prep or money to buy food. Give them some breakfast at home and look at the slice of toast as finishing breakfast.

My kids are variable at breakfast, but if all they had was one piece of toast and some juice they'd be starving by break.

A glass of milk at least rather than sugary juice surely!

I don't portion control my kids - they're all healthy weights, eat a variety of food voluntarily, and self-regulate (God knows how - I can't). Some mornings it's 3 courses (porridge, eggs, fruit - oh and the obligatory glass of milk), others they eat like birds.

That definitely isn't enough if it is all they are allowed - though it is enough if it is all one specific child wants ...

Could it be that she looked at you as if you'd grown an extra head because of course that isn't all they get... That would be the ideal scenario!

Until DD started secondary I could rarely persuade her to touch breakfast and often only insisted on a glass of milk if she really wasn't going to eat anything (she has always been the one who could be relied on to eat lunch and dinner no matter what I cooked, and took a sandwich for break, so I wasn't worried). She has scrambled eggs every school day now though and sometimes also cereal.

DS1 on the other hand eats a very large bowl of porridge (probably 2 servings) with honey, and then sometimes a bowl of cereal or toast (if we have toast bread, we often don't) every day. The kids sometimes stay the night at PIL during school holidays and they always offer toast and always tell me how much toast DS1 can put away for breakfast - often 8 or 9 slices!! Luckily he is only there perhaps 6 breakfasts a year :o He would be in year 3 if we lived in the UK...

Would most people really have cereal AND toast AND fruit though?

YANBU - at everywhere I have worked there has been fruit, toast, cereal etc. There is some variation day to day (e.g they might not have apple and bananas, it might rotate) but always some fruit, cereal and toast. They could also have fruit juice, water or milk to drink

Most kids would eat porridge and honey wouldn't they? 2 litres of milk, half a bag of oats chucked in a microwave for a few minutes, so 2 quid to feed 8-10 kids (my sums may be wrong) - and that'll keep them going for a bit - vs the same money on toast/margarine.

Don't be silly. They have cereal OR toast. Surprised you need that clarified but there you go.
Portion control ffs.

That was what I was asking, pitsch. I'll be honest and say I am crap with what a 'typical' meal might look like as I haven't eaten breakfast since I was a young child so I wasn't sure,

You are paying a lot, I would expect a range of toast, cereal and fruit, some yoghurts.

MilkTwoSugarsThanks just because that is what your DS can manage does't mean all other children should be like him.

Children seem to be "wired" to eat a different times of day - my DS1 eats a lot at breakfast but very little in the afternoon, and often only picks at his dinner. Its actually healthier to have a big breakfast than a big dinner.
Activity levels also vary enormously - everyone seems convinced their child is active, but if you spend time with bigger groups of children (not self selecting friendship groups who tend to be similar to one another) the activity levels vary to an amazing degree, both how naturally active children are in their free time (kids who are outdoors playing football or riding bikes or in-lining or whatever 6 hours a day naturally consume a lot more food than kids who prefer to curl up with a book or do a jigsaw or play with Playmobile or whatever in their down time, and who chat or play less physically actively at playtime) and how much proper full on sports they do outside school.

More food needs to be available for the kids who naturally breakfast like an emperor, lunch like a prince and dine like a pauper, as the old saying goes.

Additionally isn't breakfast club supposed to be a safety net for children who might not be getting enough good food at home, like free school meals are? Or is it no longer offered free to those entitled to free school meals? That used to be its duel role alongside being child care for working parents, way back when when I was a teacher in a deprived part of London.

Sadly most kids definitely won't eat porridge- even those lovely little oats so simple type bags, some of which are as sweet as flapjacks!

Ime, toast is usually white (more children will eat it), Marge not butter (cost), juice and fruit offered but not often eaten. BUT 90% have also offered plainish cereal- cornflakes, weetabix, etc, plus milk, and the better ones have egg, beans, even bacon on Friday. I preferred to give breakfast at home as mine weren't big eaters and I wanted to get a bit of protein into them.

DS goes to breakfast club - gets toast (more than one piece) or cereal/other breakfast breaded products they may have on occasion, and on top of that yoghurt, unlimited fruit, fruit juice and milk. He'd be starving if he was only given one piece of toast.

To be honest a piece of toast and juice seems enough to me in terms of calories, especially for small children, and especially if they will be having a snack at playtime which is only about two hours later.

I think some protein and more fibre would be preferred for breakfast though, so porridge, scrambled eggs, peanut butter, cheese, yoghurt, milk, and fresh fruit etc. instead of just plain toast.

The cost is childcare as well as food though isn't it? Having said that, unless the DCs are vegan or dairy free, only butter is acceptable for toast plus peanut butter would be good, providing there are no allergy issues of course.

Ideally they should have a decent breakfast with some protein in but eggs are probably impractical, although they might have the facilities or they could have some pieces of cheese, fresh fruit, and decent cereal like porridge with full fat milk or yogurt and dried fruit/nuts rather than crappy bread and even crappier margarine? That's not really food.

Sadly a lot of these breakfast clubs are sponsored by Kelloggs who obviously have a vested interest in indoctrinating them into their crappy cereal products.

At my kids primary there are two breakfast clubs, a free one from 7:50 until 8:50 and a paid one from 7:00 until 8:50.
The free one offers porridge, cereal, toast, crumpets, and fruit. There is jam or honey for the toast. The paid one offers egg or beans on toast and bacon or sausage toasties as well as the other options.

My children wouldn't have toast and cereal and fruit though. Toast and fruit or cereal and fruit.

Its a breakfast club as in the name, so a range of breakfast based things should be on offer. Milk how old is your dc? That seems very little for an average child of 5+.

YANBU to think that is not a good breakfast.

Our breakfast club provides cereal and toast (I think) but DD always has breakfast before she goes, and will only occasionally have second breakfast when she gets there.

TBH I look at the before and after school provision as childcare and for the £3.50 per hour don't expect anything amazing on the food stakes. DD stays at afterschool on one day long enough to have tea but that is usually something like beans on toast, wraps, or baked potatoes etc - I don't expect them to be able to provide a 'proper' meal.

I think £1-£1.50 for breakfast club providing muesli and fresh fruit etc are going to be in the minority and must be heavily subsidised.

😂 at the thought of DS ever eating porridge. At any time of the day. Tbf I wouldn't touch the stuff either though.

I honestly think that anything offered at breakfast club is more about "topping up" a child that wants a bit more. Of course I'm sure your child could have another slice of they asked for one. You can't expect a 3 course fully organic breakfast for a few pounds a day. If you want your child to eat more, get them up earlier and give them something before they go.